Letters: Old ‘myths’ debunked

Heather Phillips regurgitates old myths, in your April 22, 2015 issue, “Paper is getting out of touch.”

The “acid rain” scare was thoroughly debunked, among findings were that the lakes supposedly made acidic by air pollution were always acidic until logging facilitated soil runoff which reduced acidity – the lakes were simply returning to their normal state in the presence of conifers.

Research has shown that areas of ozone thinning in the atmosphere are normal, especially in polar areas due to cold temperatures – they do vary over time.

And even an IPCC shows the limited effect that carbon dioxide can have on climate temperature, most of which has already occurred. (The IPCC then spins that limited amount into a theory of runaway warming that is not happening and did not happen in the warmer Medieval Warm Period when Vikings farmed southwest Greenland).

I challenge Heather Phillips to think about the eagerness of many people to assume negatives about humans, when all around are examples of planting and nurturing, solid shelters, and advanced medical care – most of those things helped by economical energy. That’s the energy that alarmists want to take away from poor people, while they – people like Al Gore and David Suzuki – live in large houses (plural) and jet around the world spewing carbon dioxide.

On another topic: The answer to your question “Who’s in control of our tax dollars?” is voters.

We live in a democracy, each of us can work to develop better candidates for office and elect them.

A key attribute of those candidates should be a commitment to reduce government.

Fewer laws and fewer activities would mean less opportunity and motivation to pork-barrel and be profligate.

A key problem today is that many voters want to pick others’ pockets to get a free ride. An old US maxim identifies their thinking ”Don’t tax me, don’t tax thee, tax that man behind the tree.” What the fools don’t grasp is that with other people also trying for a free ride their own pocket gets picked too.

The answer is in your mirror.

Keith Sketchley

Saanich

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